Low cost, self regulating heater for use in an in situ thermal desorption soil remediation system

ABSTRACT

An in situ thermal desorption soil remediation system may be used to remove contamination from soil. Heat may be applied to the soil by metallic strip heaters that have large cross sectional areas as compared to conventional heater elements. The strip heaters may be made of stainless steel. Large cross sectional areas of the strip heaters allow for large areas of thermal contact between the strip heaters and the soil being treated. Casings may not be needed between the strip heaters and the soil. The operating temperature of the strip heaters is self-regulating. As the temperature of a strip heater increases, the electrical resistance of the strip heater also increases. The increase in resistance causes a decrease in the power dissipation of the strip heater. The decrease in power dissipation as temperature increases allows a steady state heater strip temperature to be attained during use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to soil remediation, and moreparticularly to a heater for an in situ thermal desorption soilremediation process.

2. Description of Related Art

Contamination of subsurface soils has become a matter of great concernin many locations. Subsurface soil may become contaminated withchemical, biological, and/or radioactive contaminants. Contamination ofsubsurface soil may occur in a variety of ways. Hazardous materialspills, leaking storage vessels, and landfill seepage of improperlydisposed of materials are just a few examples of the many ways in whichsoil may become contaminated. Contaminants in subsurface soil can becomepublic health hazards if the contaminants migrate into aquifers, intoair, or into the food supply. Contaminants in subsurface soil maymigrate into the food supply through bioaccumulation in various speciesthat are part of the food chain.

There are many methods for removal of contaminants from subsurface soil.Some possible methods for treating contaminated subsurface soil includeexcavation followed by incineration, in situ vitrification, biologicaltreatment, and in situ chemical treatment. Although these methods may besuccessfully applied in some applications, the methods can be veryexpensive. The methods may not be practical if many tons of soil must betreated.

One process that may be used to remove contaminants from subsurface soilis a soil vapor extraction (SVE) process. A SVE process applies a vacuumto a well to draw air through subsurface soil. The air carries volatilecontaminants towards the source of the vacuum. Off-gas removed from thesoil by the vacuum may include contaminants that were within the soil.The off-gas may be transported to a treatment facility. The off-gasremoved from the soil may be processed in the treatment facility toreduce contaminants within the off-gas to acceptable levels.

The permeability of the subsurface soil may limit the effectiveness of aSVE process. Air and vapor may flow through subsurface soil primarilythrough high permeability regions of the soil. The air and vapor maybypass low permeability regions of the soil. Air and vapor bypassing oflow permeability regions may allow large amounts of contaminants toremain in the soil after a SVE process has treated the soil. Reduced airpermeability due to water retention, stratified soil layers, andheterogeneities within the soil may cause regions of high and lowpermeability within subsurface soil.

Reduced air permeability due to water retention may inhibit contact ofthe flowing air with the contaminants in the soil. A partial solution tothe problem of water retention is to dewater the soil. The soil may bedewatered by lowering the water table and/or by using a vacuumdewatering technique. These methods may not be effective methods ofopening the pores of the soil to admit airflow. Capillary forces mayinhibit removal of water from the soil when the water table is lowered.Lowering the water table may result in moist soil. Air conductivitythrough moist soil is limited.

A vacuum dewatering technique may have practical limitations. The vacuumgenerated during a vacuum dewatering technique may diminish rapidly withdistance from the dewatering wells. The use of a vacuum dewateringtechnique may not result in a significant improvement to the soil waterretention problem. The use of a vacuum dewatering technique may resultin the formation of preferential passageways for air conductivitylocated adjacent to the dewatering wells.

Many types of soil are characterized by horizontal layering withalternating layers of high and low permeability. A common example of alayered type of soil is lacustrine sediments. Thin beds of alternatingsilty and sandy layers characterize lacustrine sediments. If an SVE wellintercepts several such layers, nearly all of the induced airflow occurswithin the sandy layers and bypasses the silty layers.

Heterogeneities may be present in subsurface soil. Air and vapor maypreferentially flow through certain regions of heterogeneous soil. Airand vapor may be impeded from flowing through other regions ofheterogeneous soil. For example, air and vapor tend to flowpreferentially through voids in poorly compacted fill material. Air andvapor may be impeded from flowing through overly compacted fillmaterial. Buried debris within fill material may also impede the flow ofair and vapor through subsurface soil.

In situ thermal desorption (ISTD) may be used to increase theeffectiveness of a SVE process. An ISTD soil remediation processinvolves in situ heating of the contaminated soil to raise thetemperature of the soil while simultaneously removing offgas by vacuum.In situ heating may be preferred over convective heating by theintroducing of a hot fluid (such as steam) into the soil because thermalconduction through soil is very uniform as compared to mass transferthrough soil. Thermal conductivity of an average soil may vary by afactor of about two throughout the soil. Fluid flow conductivity of anaverage soil may vary by a factor of 10⁸ throughout the soil.

Soil may be heated by radiant heating in combination with thermalconduction, by radiant by radio frequency heating, or by electricalformation conduction heating. Conductive heating may be a preferredmethod of heating the soil because conductive heating is not limited bythe amount of water present in the soil. For soil contamination withinabout 2 feet of the soil surface, thermal blankets may apply conductiveheat to the soil. For deeper soil contamination, heaters placed in wellsmay apply conductive heat to the soil. Coincident or separate sourcevacuum may be applied to remove vapors from the soil. U.S. Pat. No.4,984,594 issued to Vinegar et al, which is incorporated by reference asif fully set forth herein, describes an ISTD process for soilremediation of low depth soil contamination. U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,116issued to Vinegar et al., which is corporated by reference as if fullyset forth herein, describes an ISTD process for eating contaminatedsubsurface soil with conductive heating.

A conductive heat ISTD soil remediation process may have severaladvantages ver a simple soil vapor extraction system. The heat added tothe contaminated soil may aise the temperature of the soil above thevaporization temperatures of the soil ontaminants. If the soiltemperature exceeds the vaporization temperature of a soil ontaminant,the contaminant will become a vapor. The vacuum may be able to draw thevaporized contaminant out of the soil. Even heating the soil to atemperature below the vaporization temperature of the contaminants mayhave beneficial effects. Increasing the soil temperature will increasethe vapor pressure of the contaminants in the soil and allow an airstream to remove a greater portion of the contaminants from the soilthan is possible at lower soil temperatures.

Most soil formations include a large amount of liquid water as comparedto contaminants. Raising the temperature of the soil to the vaporizationtemperature of the water will boil the water. The resulting water vapormay volatize contaminants within the soil by steam distillation. Anapplied vacuum may then remove the volatized contaminants and watervapor from the soil. Steam distillation within the soil may result inthe removal of medium and high boiling point contaminants from the soil.

In addition to allowing greater removal of contaminants from the soil,the increased heat of the soil may result in the destruction ofcontaminants in situ. The presence of an oxidizer, such as air, mayresult in the oxidation of the contaminants that pass through soil thatis heated to high temperatures. Contaminants within the soil may bealtered by pyrolysis to form volatile compounds that are removed fromthe soil by the vacuum.

Heating the subsurface soil may result in an increase in thepermeability of the soil. A visible indication of the increase inpermeability of soil may be seen in the surface of dry lake beds. As alake bed dries, the soil forms a polygonal network of wide cracks. Insubsurface soil, the creation of a network of cracks may result inenhanced vacuum driven transport within the soil. Laboratorymeasurements also indicate that the microscopic permeability of a drymud is substantially greater than the permeability of the original mud.The macroscopic and microscopic increase in permeability of dried soilallows an ISTD soil remediation process to be applied to lowpermeability clays and silts that are not amenable to standard soilvapor extraction processes.

A typical ISTD soil remediation process may include four majorcomponents. The components may be heaters, off-gas collection piping, anoff-gas treatment system, and instrumentation and power control systems.

For shallow contaminated soil, the heat may be applied to the soil by aheating blanket placed on top of the soil. Shallow contaminated soilincludes soil contamination that does not extend below a depth of about3 feet. For deeper contaminated soil, heat may be applied to the soil byheater wells.

The heat may be applied by a combination of radiant transfer and heatconduction. The heater element radiantly heats a casing, and the casingconductively heats the soil. The heating element of a heater well may beconstructed from two NICHROME® wire loops. Interlocking ceramic beadsmay be positioned on the wire loops. The heating element may besupported on either side of a 310 stainless steel strip by smallstainless steel bolts. The strip may be suspended from a carbon steeltop hat inside a 3.5-inch stainless steel casing. The casing may besanded into a 6-inch augered hole. The casing may include a welded topflange that seals to a silicone rubber vapor barrier placed on top ofthe soil. Four thermocouples may be attached to the NICHROME® heatingelement for temperature control. A heater well may cost approximately$180 per foot to produce. The heater well may require an installationtime of about 6 man hours. control. A heater well may cost approximately$180 per foot to produce. The heater well may require an installationtime of about 6 man hours.

In addition to the components of a heater well, a heater/suction wellincludes an outer 4.5-inch stainless steel screened liner and a flangeabove the surface flange. The additional flange connects to a vacuummanifold. A heater/suction well may cost about $240 per foot to produce.The heater/suction well may require an installation time of about 8 manhours.

A ratio of heater wells to heater/suction wells may be used during anISTD soil remediation process. For example, an alternating pattern ofheater wells and heater/suction wells may be used in a soil remediationsystem. Alternately, an ISTD soil remediation process may use onlyheater/suction wells. After remediation is complete, the wells may bepulled out of the ground with a crane. The holes may then be sealed bygrouting to the surface. Often the condition of the wells after removalis poor. The wells may be corroded and/or bent. Extensive rework may berequired to bring a well to a condition where it can be used again inanother ISTD soil remediation process.

The off-gas collection piping may connect an array of suction wells toan off-gas treatment facility. The off-gas collection piping may includea plurality of metal, interconnected pipes. The interconnected pipingmay be flanged piping that requires careful alignment duringinstallation. A crane may be used to lift and position the piping. Thepiping may be insulated piping that includes internal electric heaters.The insulation and the heaters prevent condensation of the vapor in thepiping. The internal electric heaters require extra power supplies,wiring, and control units. Setting up the vapor collection pipingconstitutes a large part of the field installation cost of an ISTD soilremediation process.

A high soil temperature may destroy most of the soil contaminants beforethe contaminants are drawn to the surface facilities. A flamelessthermal oxidizer may treat remaining contaminants within the off-gasstream. One commercial ISTD soil remediation system uses an 1800 scfmregenerative thermal oxidizer manufactured by Thermatrix Inc. of SanJose, Calif. The Thermatrix 1800 thermal oxidizer utilizes a ceramicmedia matrix to establish a stable and efficient reaction zone with anoperating temperature range of 1800-1900° F. The Thermatrix 1800includes about 65,000 pounds of ceramic matrix that has a high thermalinertia. A saddle type geometry of the ceramic matrix promotes efficientmixing. The Thermatrix 1800 thermal oxidizer has a guaranteeddestruction efficiency for chlorinated organic compounds of 99.99+%.

During initial startup, the thermal oxidizer may be preheated with a gasburner until a desired temperature profile is created. The burner isthen turned off and the temperature profile inside the thermal oxidizeris maintained by addition of fuel (propane) that is mixed with air atambient temperature. Once a stable profile is obtained, the vapor streamis allowed to enter the oxidizer. Fuel may be added or withheld from thethermal oxidizer to maintain a substantially stable temperature profilewithin the thermal oxidizer. Gases leaving the thermal oxidizer may becooled in a heat exchanger. The gases may then be passed through acarbon absorption bed for backup and polishing.

Thermal oxidizers are costly to purchase, set up, and operate. Thecapital expense of a vapor treatment system described above is very high(more than one million dollars). Thermal oxidizers may be large andheavy units that are expensive to mobilize. For example, the Thermatrix1800 thermal oxidizer has an on-site footprint of about 52 feet by 8feet. The unit has 65,000 pounds of ceramic saddles. It must betransported to the site on a separate double-drop trailer. Thetransportation cost to and from a soil remediation site may be $70,000or more. A thermal oxidizer requires continuous manned operation. Thethermal oxidizer unit is the principal reason for manned operation of anISTD soil remediation process.

An ISTD soil remediation process may require a large amount ofcomputerized instrumentation for thermal well control and temperaturemonitoring. A well controller may be used to control a pair of thermalwells. Each well controller may monitor heater thermocouples and controlpower applied to a pair of thermal wells. The well controllers may beelectrically connected to a central computer over a field wide datalink. Each well controller may cost about $

800. Thermocouples and control wiring for the thermal wells areextensive and laborious to install, connect, and troubleshoot.Thermocouples may be driven into the soil at various locations in aregion undergoing an ISTD soil remediation process to allow fortemperature monitoring. The thermocouples may be polled by selected wellcontrollers.

Well controllers enable the heater wells to apply heat to the soil at ahigher rate than a steady state heat injection rate. Although a highrate can be applied at the beginning of the remediation process, thewell controllers must lower the heating rate to prevent metallurgicaldamage to the heater wells. Thus, there may only be a small netacceleration of the heating process due to heating rate control.Moreover, the well controllers increase the chance of heater failurebecause they are controlling temperature at a single thermocouplelocation. If the thermocouple is not located at the hottest portion of aheater, the hottest portion of the heater may be maintained at anexcessively hot temperature that could cause the heating element tofail.

The on-site equipment may include three trailers. The three trailers maybe a process trailer, a control trailer, and an electrical trailer. Theprocess trailer, which may contain the thermal oxidizer, heatexchangers, carbon beds and a vacuum source, may occupy approximately an8-foot by 52-foot area. The control trailer, which contains all of theinstrumentation and programming for the ISTD soil remediation system,may occupy approximately an 8-foot by 48-foot area. The electricaltrailer, which provides power to the system, may occupy approximately an8.5-foot by 48-foot area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An ISTD soil remediation process may be used to treat a region ofcontaminated soil. Conductive heat may be applied to the soil by aplurality of strip heaters. For low depth soil contamination, the stripheaters may be placed in trenches within the contaminated soil. Fordeeper soil contamination, the strip heaters may be verticallypositioned in heater wells, or in combined heater and suction wellsspaced throughout the contaminated soil. Vacuum sources that arecoincident to or separate from the strip heaters may be applied to thesoil to remove off-gas from the soil.

A strip heater may include a heater section, transition sections, andcold pins. The heater section may be formed of a high temperature,chemical resistant metal. The heater section dissipates heat when thestrip heater is connected to a power source. The metal that forms theheater section may be, but is not limited to, stainless steel, INCOLOY®,or NICHROME®. The specific metal used to form the heater section of astrip heater may be chosen based on cost, the operative temperature ofthe soil remediation process, the electrical properties of the metal,the physical properties of the metal, and the chemical resistanceproperties of the metal.

A heater section may have a large cross section area as compared to across sectional area of a conventional heater element. The large crosssectional area of the heater section may result in a smaller electricalresistance for the strip heater as compared to conventional heaters ofequivalent length. The smaller electrical resistance allows severalstrip heaters to be connected in series. The ability to connect severalstrip heaters in series greatly simplifies the wiring requirements foran ISTD soil remediation system. The large cross sectional area of theheater section also allows a large contact area between the heatersection and material placed adjacent to the heater section. The largecontact area may promote dissipation of heat produced in the stripheater into surrounding soil. The heat is applied to the soil byconduction. Compared to conventional radiant heating, a heater strip mayoperate at a lower temperature for the same power input. Avoidingradiant energy transfer improves the reliability of the heating system.

A heater section of a strip heater may be formed with a rectangularcross sectional shape. For example, the heater section may be a 1-inchby ⅛-inch strip of stainless steel. A heater strip may be 40-feet ormore in length. Strip heaters having other cross sectional shapes mayalso be used. A strip heater may be formed with a variable crosssectional area so that greater heat dissipation occurs at certainportions of the strip heater (sections having a smaller cross sectionalarea) than at other portions of the strip heater. A local high heatdissipation section of a strip may be positioned adjacent to soil thatrequires extra heat dissipation, such as wet soil or the top and bottomsections to counteract heat loss. A strip heater may be formed withsections that have a large cross sectional area. A large cross sectionalarea section of a strip heater may be placed adjacent to an impermeablesection of soil that does not need to be heated by the strip heater. Thecross sectional area of sections of a strip heater may be less at thetop and bottom of the heater strip so that the strip heater diffusesmore energy at the top and bottom of the strip heater.

Transition sections may be welded to each end of a heater section of astrip heater. Pins may be welded to the transition sections. Forexample, the transition sections may be 6-inch long strips of 1-inch by½-inch stainless steel that are welded to the ends of a 1-inch by ⅛-inch20-foot long heater section. The pins may be ⅜-inch nickel pins. Thepins may extend above the soil surface when the strip heater is insertedinto the soil. A mechanical Kerney lug may be used to splice the nickelpins to copper cable. The copper cable may be electrically coupled to apower source, such as a transformer. Long nickel strips may be attachedto a heater section to form long unheated sections of a strip heater.Long unheated sections of a strip heater may be needed for deep soilcontamination that is not near the soil surface.

A strip heater that will be used to treat deep soil contamination may bebent into a U shape. The strip heater may be placed into an augeredhole. The hole may be packed with sand, gravel, or with larger sizedfill material. The fill material may push legs of the strip heateragainst a wall of the hole. Larger sized fill material may promoteoff-gas flow through the fill material. The fill material may acts as athermal transfer agent between the strip heater and the soil. The fillmaterial may include catalyst material, such as alumina, that enhancesthe thermal breakdown of contaminants. A suction well may be formed byinserting a perforated casing between legs of the strip heater.Attaching the perforated casing to a vacuum source allows vacuum toremove vapor from the soil as off-gas. Positioning the casing betweenlegs of a U-shaped strip heater allows the off-gas to pass through ahigh temperature zone before being removed from the soil. Passing theoff-gas through the high temperature zone may result in the thermaldegradation of contaminants within the off-gas.

As an alternative to placing a strip heater in an augered hole, thestrip heater may be driven into the soil. A drive rod may be positionedat the center of a strip heater. The drive rod may then be pounded intothe soil. When the end of the strip heater is at the correct depth, thedrive rod may be withdrawn. The drive rod does not need to be acontinuous rod. The drive rod may be made of threaded sections that areassembled together as the drive rod is pounded deeper into the soil. Ageoprobe or a cone penetrometer rig may be used to drive the heaterelement into the soil. Also, a sonic rig could be used to vibrate astrip heater to a desired depth. The area between the legs of the stripheater may be filled with fill material and/or a perforated casing. Theperforated casing may be attached to a vacuum source to form a suctionwell. The fill material may include catalyst material that enhancesthermal breakdown of contaminants.

Driving or vibrating a heater strip into the soil may eliminate problemsassociated with disposing of cuttings formed during the formation of anaugered hole. Avoidance of the production of cuttings may beparticularly advantageous at extremely toxic or radioactive sites. Also,driving or vibrating a strip heater into the soil advantageously placesa portion of the strip heater in direct contact with the soil to beheated.

Strip heaters may be placed horizontally in contaminated soil.Horizontally oriented strip heaters may be especially useful fortreating soil contamination that extends less than about 4 feet underthe soil surface. Horizontally oriented strip heaters may be placed intrenches. The trenches may be formed in the contaminated soil by atrenching machine. The horizontally oriented strip heaters may becovered with the cuttings made during the formation of the trenches. Thecuttings may be tamped down on top of the strip heaters. Horizontalstrip heaters may be less expensive to install than are vertical stripheaters. Trenching costs are generally less than drilling costs. Also,horizontally positioned strip heaters may be very long. Rows of stripheaters may be separated by distances equal to about twice the insertiondepth of the strip heaters into the soil.

The heater section of a strip heater and the power source are designedto supply heat input into the soil that is greater than the heat inputthat the soil can absorb, but not enough to overheat the strip heater.An average soil may be able to absorb about 300 W/ft. A strip heater maybe designed to have a maximum heat input of about 600 W/ft. Thetemperature that a strip heater attains is self-regulating. As thetemperature of a strip heater increases, the resistance of the stripheater increases. The power source provides a substantially constantvoltage to the strip heaters, so an increase in the resistance of astrip heater decreases the power dissipation of the strip heater. Theapplication of a steady voltage to a series of heater strips may resultin steady state power dissipation through the strip heaters. Heatersections of strip heaters may be sized to allow the strip heaters toattain temperatures up to about 2000° F. when energized by a powersource. The strip heaters may be designed to operate at about 1600° F. A304 stainless steel strip heater may have a resistance of about 0.08ohms at about 1600° F.

The strip heaters may be directly connected by copper cable to a powersource. The power source may be a transformer. A group of strip heatersmay be connected in series to the transformer. The strip heaters may bedirectly connected to the transformer without well controllers orsilicon controlled rectifiers.

The simple geometry of a strip heater may allow a strip heater to beproduced at a cost of about $1.8 per foot. The production cost of astrip heater may result in about a 100×cost reduction as compared to theproduction of a conventional heater well. The production cost for aheater strip and suction well may be about $5 per foot. The productioncost of a heater strip and suction well may result in about a 50×costreduction as compared to the production of a conventional heater/suctionwell. Heater strips and heater strip and suction well combinations maynot require external casings like conventional heater wells andheater/suction wells.

Installation costs of a heater strip in an augered hole may be greatlyreduced. A conventional heater well took approximately 6 hours of timeto both install in an augered hole and connect to a power supply. Astrip heater may take 10 minutes or less to install and connect to apower supply. Installation costs of installing a heater strip andsuction well combination may also be greatly reduced as compared toinstalling a conventional heater/suction well.

A collection system may connect all of the suction wells of a soilremediation system to a treatment facility. The collection system mayinclude hoses and a vacuum manifold. The hoses may be high temperaturehoses. The hose may be, but is not limited to a high temperature rubberhose, a high temperature silicone rubber hose, or a coated rubberflexible metal hose. The system operates under vacuum; therefore, thehose needs to have structural strength that inhibits collapse of thehose. The hose may be a double walled hose or a steel reinforced hose.The vacuum manifold may be plastic piping, such as chlorinated polyvinylchloride piping. Off-gas passing through a hose has a residence timewithin the hose due to the length of the hose. The residence time may besufficiently long to allow the off-gas to cool to a temperature withinthe working temperature limits of the vacuum manifold piping. A hose maybe from about 4-feet to over 40-feet in length.

The use of a hose and plastic piping collection system results in lowercosts, simplified on-site construction, and lower mobilization costs ascompared to a conventional metal piping collection system. Thecollection system is not insulated and heated to prevent condensation ofthe off-gas. This greatly reduces the cost, installation time, andoperating cost of the collection system. The hose may be rolled intocoils for transportation. Plastic piping may be purchased locally nearthe site. Hose and plastic piping are easily cut to size on-site and areconnectable by solvent gluing. The need to have precise positioning ofmetal pipes is eliminated. Also, hose and plastic piping are lightweightand do not require machinery to lift and position during installation.For soil contaminated with chlorinated compounds, the off-gas maycontain significant amounts of HCl. Unlike metal piping, hose and theplastic piping may be highly resistant to corrosion caused by theoff-gas.

A treatment facility processes off-gas from the soil to substantiallyremove contaminants within the off-gas. A treatment facility may alsoprovide vacuum that removes the off-gas from the soil. The treatmentfacility may include a condenser that separates the off-gas into aliquid stream and a vapor stream. The liquid stream and the vapor streammay be separately processed to remove contaminants. The liquid streammay be treated using a separator and an activated carbon bed. The vaporstream may be treated using an activated carbon bed or an air stripper.

The treatment facility does not require the use of a thermal oxidizer asdid previous treatment facilities. Removing the thermal oxidizer fromthe treatment facility eliminates the large capital cost, transportationcosts, and operating expenses associated with the thermal oxidizer. Theelimination of the thermal oxidizer may allow the soil remediationprocess to be run unattended. A site supervisor may periodically checkthe system and perform normal maintenance functions at the site toensure proper operation of the soil remediation system. Continuousmanned operation of the in situ soil remediation process may not berequired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading thefollowing detailed description and upon reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a representation of a heater strip vertically inserted intosoil;

FIG. 2 shows a representation of a heater strip horizontally insertedinto soil;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a heater section that has avarying cross sectional area;

FIG. 4 shows a representation of a heater strip positioned within anexternal casing;

FIG. 5a shows a side representation of a heater/suction well insertedinto soil;

FIG. 5b shows a front representation of a heater/suction well insertedinto soil;

FIG. 6 shows a representation of an in situ thermal desorption systemusing heater/suction wells;

FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of a treatment facility;

FIG. 8 shows a representation of a square well pattern layout usingalternating heater wells and heater/suction wells;

FIG. 9 shows a representation of a triangular well pattern layout;

FIG. 10 shows a representation of a horizontal strip heater placementpattern;

FIG. 11 shows voltage, amperage, and power data for a strip heater as afunction of time;

FIG. 12 shows temperature data for the strip heater of FIG. 11 as afunction of time;

FIG. 13 shows resistance data for the strip heater of FIG. 11 as afunction of time; and

FIG. 14 shows potential voltage near the strip heater of FIG. 11 as afunction of time.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that the drawing and detailed descriptionthereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular formdisclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As depicted in FIG. 1, an in situ thermal desorption soil remediationprocess may use strip heaters 20 to conductively apply heat tocontaminated region 22 of soil 24. The soil remediation process may beused to remove contaminants from the soil 24. A vacuum may be applied tothe soil 24 along with conductive heat to remove contaminants from thesoil. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a strip heater 20 verticallypositioned in contaminated soil 24. FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of astrip heater 20 horizontally positioned in soil 24. Strip heaters 20 mayalso be inserted in soil 24 in non-vertical and non-horizontal (e.g.,angled) orientations.

A strip heater 20 may include heater section 26, transition sections 28,and pins 30. The heater section 26 may be formed of a high temperature,chemical resistant metal. The heater section 26 may be formed of astainless steel, including but not limited to type 304 stainless steel,type 309 stainless steel, type 310 stainless steel, or type 316stainless steel. Heater sections 26 may also be formed of other metalsincluding, but not limited to, NICHROME®, INCOLOY®, HASTELLOY®, orMONEL®. For example, the heater section 26 may be made of NICHROME® 80or INCOLOY® 800.

The specific metal used to form the heater section 26 may be chosenbased on cost, the operative temperature of the soil remediationprocess, the electrical properties of the metal, the physical propertiesof the metal, and the chemical resistance properties of the metal. Forexample, 310 stainless steel is a high temperature stainless steel thatmay dissipate about 20% more power than 304 stainless steel for stripsof equivalent dimensions. The corrosion resistance of 310 stainlesssteel is better than the corrosion resistance of 304 stainless steel.The upper working temperature limit of 310 stainless steel is about 300°F. higher than the upper working temperature limit of 304 stainless. Theextra temperature range of 310 stainless steel may be used to dissipateextra heat into soil 24 and shorten remediation time. The extratemperature range may be used as a safety margin to insure againstoverheating the strip heater 20. The cost of 310 stainless steel may beabout 25% more than the cost of 304 stainless steel. At a design stageof a soil remediation process, a determination may be made of whetherthe better characteristics of 310 stainless steel justify the extra costof the 310 stainless steel above the cost of 304 stainless steel.

A heater section 26 may have a large cross sectional area as compared toconventional wire heater elements. A large cross sectional area of aheater section 26 allows a strip heater 20 to have a small electricalresistance as compared to a conventional heater of equivalent length. Asmall electrical resistance allows a strip heater 20 to be long. A smallelectrical resistance also allows several strip heaters 20 to beelectrically connected in series. The ability to connect several stripheaters 20 in series may greatly simplify the wiring requirements of asoil remediation system. The large cross sectional area of a heatersection 26 may provide a large contact area between the heater sectionand material placed adjacent to the strip heater 20. The large contactarea may provide good thermal contact between the heater section 26 andthe adjacent material. Good thermal contact may promote dissipation ofheat produced in the heater section 26 into surrounding soil 24.

A heater section 26 may have a substantially rectangular cross sectionalarea. For example, an embodiment of a heater section 26 may have a1-inch by ⅛-inch rectangular cross section and a length of about 20feet. Cross sectional shapes other than rectangular shapes may also beused. The cross sectional shape may be, but is not limited toellipsoidal, circular, arcuate, or square shapes. The cross sectionalarea and length of a heater section 26 may be designed to allow thetemperature of the heater section to reach a desired temperature whenpower is applied to the strip heater 20.

A heater section 26 may be formed with variable cross sectional areaslocated at positions along a length of the heater section. Greater heatdissipation will occur at portions of a heater section 26 that have lesscross sectional area, and less heat dissipation will occur at portionsof the heater section that have greater cross sectional area. Local highheat dissipation portions of a heater section 26 may be positionedadjacent to sections of soil 24 that require extra heating, such as wetsoil areas. Low heat dissipation areas of a heater section 26 may bepositioned adjacent to sections of soil 24 that do not require heating,such as impermeable soil layers. Various portions of metal havingdifferent cross sectional areas may be welded together to form a heatersection 26 having variable cross sectional areas. FIG. 3 shows a portionof a heater section 26 that has reduced area 32 that dissipates heat ata greater rate than adjacent areas 34.

Transition sections 28 may be welded to each end of a heater section 26.Pins 30 may be welded to the transition sections 28. For example, thetransition sections 28 shown in FIG. 1 may be 6-inch long strips of1-inch by ½-inch stainless steel that are welded to the ends of a 1-inchby ⅛-inch heater section 26. The pins 30 may be ⅜-inch diameter nickelpins. Pins 30 may extend above soil surface 36 when the strip heater 20is inserted into the soil 24. Lugs 38 may be used to splice the pins 30to cable 40. The cable 40 may be one conductor, 3/0 gauge, type “G”mining cable. The cable 40 may be electrically coupled to power source42. The power source 42 may be a transformer. Long strips (not shown) oflow resistance material, such as nickel, may be welded to the heatersection 26 to form long unheated sections of a strip heater 20. Longunheated sections of a strip heater 20 may be needed to position heatersection 26 next to contaminated soil 44 that is not near the soilsurface 36.

A strip heater 20 is positioned in the soil 24. A portion of the heatersection 26 may be positioned below contaminated soil 44 so that a layerof uncontaminated soil 46 is heated during a soil remediation process.The portion of the heater section 26 below the contaminated soil 44 maybe one or more feet in depth. Heating a section of uncontaminated soil46 below the contaminated soil 44 may prevent fall off in temperature atthe boundaries of the contaminated region. The cross sectional area ofthe strip heater 20 at the bottom of the well 50 may be small so thatmore heat is diffused in the bottom of the strip heater. Diffusing moreheat at the bottom may help to establish a more uniform temperaturedistribution throughout the soil treatment area.

A strip heater 20 that is not horizontally positioned in the soil 24 maybe formed in a U-shape so that both strip heater pins 30 are accessiblenear the soil surface 36, as depicted in FIG. 2. A strip heater 20 maybe inserted in opening 47 within the soil 24.

In an embodiment, the opening 47 may be an augered hole. As analternative to inserting a strip heater 20 in an augered hole, the stripheater may be driven into the soil 24. A drive rod (not shown) may bepositioned at the center of a strip heater 20. The drive rod may then bepounded into the soil 24. When the strip heater 20 is inserted to adesired depth, the drive rod may be withdrawn. The drive rod does notneed to be a continuous rod. The drive rod may be made of threadedsections that are assembled together as the drive rod is pounded deeperinto the soil 24. A geoprobe or a cone penetrometer rig may be used todrive a strip heater 20 into the soil 24. Also, a sonic rig (not shown)may be used to vibrate a strip heater 20 to a desired depth. The sonicrig may include an eccentric cam that vibrates a strip heater 20 and adrive rod to a desired soil depth.

Driving or vibrating a strip heater 20 into soil 24 may eliminateproblems associated with disposing of cuttings formed during theformation of an augered hole. Avoidance of the production of cuttingsmay be particularly advantageous at extremely toxic or radioactivesites. Also, driving or vibrating a strip heater 20 into the soil 24advantageously places a portion of a strip heater 20 in direct contactwith the soil to be heated.

After a strip heater 20 is inserted into the soil 24, fill material 48may be placed adjacent to the strip heater 20 to form heater well 50. Toplace the fill material 48 against the heater strip 20, a pipe (notshown), such as a polyvinyl chloride pipe, may be inserted between legs52 of a U-shaped strip heater 20. The pipe may press the strip heater 20against the soil 24. Fill material 48 may be inserted through the pipewhile raising the pipe out of the soil 24. The fill material 48 maypress the strip heater 20 against the soil 24. The fill material 48 mayalso plug spaces between the strip heater 20 and the soil 24. The fillmaterial 48 may include sand and/or gravel. The fill material 48 mayalso include catalyst material, such as aluminum oxide. The catalystmaterial may promote the thermal degradation of contaminants that passthrough the fill material 48. The fill material 48 may be built up in amound at the soil surface 36 to promote water runoff away from theheater well 50. Thermocouple well 54 may be positioned in the fillmaterial 48 between the legs 52 of a U-shaped strip heater 20. Athermocouple placed in the thermocouple well 54 may be used to measurethe temperature between the legs of the strip heater during an in situthermal desorption soil remediation process.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a heater well 50 wherein a strip heater 20is placed inside an external casing 56. The external casing 56 inhibitscontact of the strip heater 20 with formation fluids within soil 24. Theexternal casing 56 may be a carbon steel pipe. The strip heater 20 maybe spaced away from a wall of the external casing 56 by insulatedcentralizers 58 positioned on the wall of the casing 56 or on the stripheater 20. The casing 56 may be packed with heat conductive fillmaterial 48. The external casing 56 may be in thermal contact withadjacent soil 24. Selected strip heaters 20 of a soil remediation systemmay be placed in external casings 56 to reduce current leakage into thesoil 24 from the strip heaters. Some current leakage may be acceptablebecause the current leakage may heat water or soil drawing current fromthe strip heaters 20. If excessive current leak is possible, an externalcasing may be used to surround the strip heater. An external casing 56may be used when the heater well 50 is inserted in a water saturatedzone, or into a brackish water. An external casing 56 may add anadditional cost of about $3 per foot for a heater well 50.

A heater well 50 may include vacuum casing 60 positioned between thelegs 52 of a heater strip 20 and separated from the heater strip byinsulated centralizers 58, as depicted in FIG. 5a. A portion of thecasing 60 that is positioned adjacent to contaminated soil 44 may beperforated. Perforations allow a vacuum to draw vapor into the casing 60so that the vapor may be removed as off-gas from the soil 24. Stripheater 20 and casing 60 combinations form heater/suction wells 62. FIGS.5a and 5 b shows an embodiment of a heater/suction well 62. The fillmaterial 48 adjacent to the casing 60 of a heater/suction well 62 mayinclude catalyst material, such as aluminum oxide, that enhances thethermal degradation of contaminants as the contaminants pass through thefill material into the casing. As shown in FIGS. 5a and 5 b,thermocouple well 54 may be inserted into the casing 60. In anembodiment, the thermocouple well 54 is ¼-inch stainless steel tubingthat is inserted into the center of a 1.5-inch stainless steel casing60. A thermocouple positioned within the thermocouple well 54 may beused to monitor the temperature of a strip heater 20 adjacent to thecasing 60.

A strip heater 20 of a heater/suction well 62 may be placed inside anexternal casing 56 as shown in FIG. 4. In an embodiment, a vacuum casingmay be strapped to the outside of an external casing and strip heatercombination. In an alternate embodiment, a large diameter vacuum casingmay be placed on the outside of the external casing and strip heatercombination. An annular space may be formed between the vacuum casingand the external casing containing the strip heater.

FIG. 6 shows a representation of an embodiment of an in situ thermaldesorption soil remediation system that uses a plurality of verticalheater/suction wells 62 to treat contaminated region 22 of soil 24. Thesoil remediation system may include the heater/suction wells 62,impermeable barrier 64, power source 42, collection piping, andtreatment facility 66. The collection piping may include hoses 68 andvacuum manifold 70. The soil remediation process may involvesimultaneously applying heat and vacuum to the soil 24. Heat may beapplied to the soil 24 by electrical powered strip heaters 20 positionedwithin the heater/suction wells 62. The heat applied by the stripheaters 20 to the soil 24 may destroy some soil contamination by thermaldegradation of the contaminants. The vacuum may draw some contaminantsout of the soil 24 as components of off-gas removed from the soil. Theoff-gas may travel through the hoses 68 and the vacuum manifold 70 tothe treatment facility 66.

Impermeable barrier 64 may be placed over the remediation site. Thebarrier 64 may be silicone rubber sheeting. If the contaminated soil 44is not near the soil surface 36, and if the strip heaters 20 are placedsome distance below the soil surface, it may be possible to avoid highsurface temperatures. If the soil surface 36 temperature is low, then alow temperature material such as polypropylene sheeting or polyethylenesheeting may be used as the impermeable barrier 64. Sealant 72 may beapplied around each portion of a well 62 that extends through thebarrier 64. Strip heater pins 30 and vacuum casings 60 may extendthrough the barrier 64. The barrier 64 may limit the amount of air drawninto the soil 24 during a soil remediation process.

Thermal barrier 74 may be placed under or on top of an impermeablebarrier 64. FIG. 1 shows a thermal barrier 74 placed under animpermeable barrier 64. The thermal barrier 74 may inhibit heat lossfrom the soil surface 36. The thermal barrier 74 may inhibit melting andthermal degradation of the impermeable barrier 64. The thermal barrier74 may also inhibit vapor that seeps out of the soil 24 from condensingon the impermeable barrier 64. The thermal barrier 74 may be mineral orcotton wool, glass wool or fiberglass, polystyrene foam, or aluminizedmylar.

A power source 42 used to heat the strip heaters 20 may be a three phasetransformer. For example, the power source 42 may be a 112.5 kVAtransformer that has a 480 VAC 3-phase primary and a 208 VAC 3-phasesecondary. Each phase may be used to power a group of strip heaters 20that are electrically connected in series. If more than three groups ofstrip heaters 20 are needed to treat a soil contamination region 22,sections of the contamination region may be sequentially treated, oradditional power sources may be used to treat the entire region at onetime. The strip heaters 20 may be directly coupled to the power source42 without the use of well controllers or silicon controlled rectifiers.The strip heaters 20 and the power source 42 are designed so that thestrip heaters heat to a desired temperature when connected to the powersource. The strip heaters 20 may be designed to heat to a temperaturethat is about 2000° F. The strip heaters may be designed to have asteady state operating temperature of about 1600° F.

Off-gas drawn from the soil 24 by vacuum may pass through the hoses 68and the vacuum manifold 70 to the treatment facility 66. The hoses 68may attach to vacuum casings 60 of a well 62 and to the vacuum manifold70. The casing 60 may extend through the impermeable barrier 64. Sealant72, such as silicone rubber sealant, may be used to seal casings 60 tothe barrier 64 to preserve the integrity of the barrier.

A hose 68 may be attached to each vacuum casing 60 and to the vacuummanifold 70 by solvent glue and/or clamps (not shown), or by otherattachment methods including, but not limited to, threading or flanges.The hoses 68 may be formed of high temperature rubber that has an upperworking temperature limit of about 450° F. The hoses 68 are conduits fortransporting off-gas from the casings 60 to the vacuum manifold 70.Off-gas passing through a hose 68 has a residence time within the hose.A hose 68 may have a sufficient length so that the residence time ofoff-gas within the hose is sufficiently long to allow the off-gas tocool. The off-gas may cool within the hoses 68 to a temperature that isat or below an upper working temperature limit of the material thatforms the vacuum manifold 70.

A vacuum manifold 70 may be formed of plastic piping. The plastic pipingmay be chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) piping or other plasticpiping that has a high upper working temperature limit. The upperworking temperature limit of CPVC pipe is approximately 200° F. Off-gasflowing through the vacuum manifold 70 may continue to cool. Portions ofthe vacuum manifold 70 located away from the vacuum casings 60 may beformed of plastic piping, such as PVC piping, that has a lower workingtemperature limit than CPVC piping.

The use of a collection system including hoses 68 and plastic pipingvacuum manifold 70 may result in lower costs, simplified on-siteconstruction, and lower mobilization costs as compared to a metal pipingcollection system. The collection system is not insulated and heated toprevent condensation of the off-gas. This greatly reduces the cost,installation time, and operating cost of the collection system. The hose68 may be rolled into coils for transportation. Plastic piping may bepurchased locally near the site. Hose 68 and plastic piping are easilycut to size on-site and are connectable by solvent gluing. Also, hose 68and plastic piping are lightweight and do not require machinery to liftand position during installation. Unlike some metal piping, hose 68 andthe plastic piping may be highly resistant to corrosion caused by theoff-gas.

FIG. 7 shows a representation of an embodiment of a treatment facility66. Off-gas from the vacuum manifold 70 may pass into separator 76. Theseparator 76 may separate the off-gas into a liquid stream and a vaporstream. Vacuum system 78 that is in-line with the vapor stream mayprovide the vacuum to the soil 24 that removes off-gas from the soil.The vacuum system 78 should be capable of pulling a vacuum appropriatefor the particular combination of soil permeability and geometry of thewells. The vacuum system 78 may be able to pull a vacuum in the range of0.1 to 14.6 psi. The vacuum pump may be a water-sealed vacuum pump.

The liquid stream and the vapor stream may be processed to reducecontaminants within the streams to acceptable levels. Monitoringequipment (not shown) installed in the treatment facility 66 maydetermine the quantity of contaminants in the processed streams. Themonitoring equipment may sound an alarm if too much contamination isdischarged from the treatment facility 66.

The liquid stream may be separated by second separator 80 into anon-aqueous stream and an aqueous stream. In an embodiment, the secondseparator 80 and the separator 76 may physically be a single unit. Thenon-aqueous stream may include oils and other non-aqueous material. Thenon-aqueous stream may be very small compared to the aqueous stream. Thenon-aqueous stream may be sent to non-aqueous liquid treatment unit 82.The non-aqueous liquid treatment unit 82 may place the non-aqueousstream in storage containers, such as waste barrels. The containers maybe transported off-site for disposal. Alternately, the non-aqueousliquid treatment unit 82 may be an oxidization system that destroys thenon-aqueous stream.

Pump 84 may transport the aqueous stream through activated carbon bed86. The activated carbon bed 86 removes contaminants from the aqueousstream. The remaining aqueous stream through the activated carbon bed86, the aqueous stream may be sent to sanitary sewer 88.

The vapor stream from the separator 76 may pass through vapor phasetreatment unit 90. The vapor phase treatment unit 90 may be an activatedcarbon bed. The activated carbon bed removes contaminants from the vaporstream. Alternately, the vapor phase treatment unit 90 may be a stripperthat removes contaminants from the vapor stream. Blower 92 may draw thevapor stream through the vapor phase treatment unit 90 and vent theremaining vapor to the atmosphere.

The wells shown in FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b are heater/suction wells 62. Theheater/suction wells 62 may be used to both heat the soil 24 and removeoff-gas from the soil. The off-gas may be removed from the soil byvacuum produced by the treatment facility 66. In alternate embodiments,a well may be only a heater well 50. FIG. 8 shows a square wellplacement pattern wherein the wells are alternately heater/suction wells62 and heater wells 50. Other embodiments may use other ratios of heaterwells 50 to heater/suction wells 62. In other embodiments, some wellsmay be only suction wells.

The wells shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 are placed in a square pattern. Otherregular or irregular well positioning patterns may be used to meet theparticular needs of a soil remediation site. Examples of other regularpatterns that may be used include triangular patterns, rectangularpatterns, or hexagonal patterns. For example, wells may be placed in atriangular pattern as shown in FIG. 9. The outer wells and the centerwell may be heater wells 50 and the other wells may be heater/suctionwells 62. Triangular and hexagonal well patterns may closely conform tocircular or oval-shaped contamination areas. Square and rectangularpatterns may closely conform to property lines. Irregular patterns maybe used to avoid underground obstructions, to concentrate several wellsin a highly contaminated soil region, or to meet other particular needsof a soil remediation system.

FIG. 10 shows a horizontal layout pattern for three strip heaters 20. Ahorizontally positioned strip heater 20 may be placed in a trench thatwas previously formed by a trenching machine. After the strip heaters 20are positioned within trenches and electrically coupled a power source42, the cuttings formed when making the trench may be tamped down on topof the strip heaters. Horizontally positioned strip heaters 20 may beused to treat low depth soil contamination that is within about 4 feetof the soil surface 36. Horizontally positioned strip heaters 20 may behave long lengths that span across a contaminated region 22 of soil 24.Rows of strip heaters 20 may be separated by distances equal to abouttwice the insertion depth of the strip heaters into the soil 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, a horizontally positioned strip heaters 20 may beplaced below contaminated soil 44. Vacuum applied to the soil 24 by atreatment facility 66 may be applied near the soil surface 36. Permeablemat 94 may be placed on top of the soil surface 36, and an impermeablebarrier 64 and a thermal barrier 74 may be placed on top of the mat. Themat 94 may serve as a conduit for flow beneath the impermeable barrier64. In an embodiment, the mat 94 may be a thin layer of highpermeability sand or other granular material. The mat 94 may includecatalyst material that enhances thermal degradation of contaminants thatpass through the mat. The mat 94 may allow off-gas to flow out of thesoil 24 to a vacuum manifold 70 positioned above the mat. The off-gasmay flow even when the vacuum draws the impermeable barrier 64 againstthe mat and compresses the mat. Alternately, suction wells (not shown)may be inserted into the soil 24 throughout the treatment site to drawoff-gas from the soil. The suction wells may be coupled to hoses 68, avacuum manifold 70, and a treatment facility 66.

To implement an in situ thermal desorption soil remediation process,strip heaters 20 may be placed in the soil 24 at the remediation site.For low depth soil contamination, the strip heaters 20 may behorizontally positioned in the soil 24. For deeper soil contamination,the strip heaters 20 may be vertically positioned in the soil 24.Suction wells may be positioned throughout the soil remediation site.Some or all of the suction wells may be coincident to the strip heaters20.

A thermal barrier 74 may be positioned over the remediation site.Suction well casings 60 and the strip heater pins 30 may be pushedthrough the thermal barrier 74. An impermeable barrier 64 may bepositioned over the thermal barrier 74. Suction well casings 60 andstrip heater pins 30 may be pushed through the impermeable barrier 64.Sealant 72 may be applied to each break in the impermeable barrier 64 toseal the barrier to the strip heater pins 30 and to the suction wellcasings 60.

The suction well casings 60 may be attached to a vacuum system 78 of atreatment facility 66. The vacuum system 78 may be engaged to beginremoving off-gas from the soil 24. Off-gas from the soil 24 may betreated by the treatment facility 66 to reduce contaminants within theoff-gas to acceptable levels.

Groups of strip heaters 20 may be electrically connected together inseries. Each group of strip heaters 20 may be connected to a powersource 42. When the strip heaters 20 are connected to a power source 42,the power supplied to the strip heaters 20 will heat the heater sections26 of the strip heaters 20. The heat may conductively transfer to thesoil 24. The heat may enhance removal of contaminants from the soil 24.The soil remediation system may be run for months or longer.

Treatability studies of laboratory soil samples indicate that removal ofcontaminants from soil may be a function of both temperature and time. Along operation time favors removal of contaminants that may have timedependent thermal desorption mechanisms. Heating times for natural soilsmay be longer than vaporization or desorption times for contaminants.Thus, complete removal of contaminants may be effected if the soil isheated to an adequate temperature. The adequate temperature may be theboiling point of the contaminant. For partly water soluble contaminants,an ultra-high remediation goal may only be obtainable if pore waterwithin the soil is boiled.

FIG. 11 shows electrical data for a strip heater 20 positioned within aheater well 50 for an eleven day test. The power started at about 500W/ft and decreased to a steady state value of about 380 W/ft after about20 hours of operation. The decrease in the power reflects heating anddrying of the sand and soil adjacent to the strip heater 20. FIG. 12shows the temperature rise of the strip heater 20 as measured by athermocouple positioned between legs 52 of the strip heater. FIG. 13shows the calculated increase in resistance of the strip heater 20 as afunction of time. As the resistance increases over the first 20 hours,the power dissipation of the heater section 26 decreases. An increase inresistance may also be a result of corrosion metal loss. However, verylittle corrosion was observed after more than 10 days of operation. FIG.14 shows values of ground potential measured at copper stakes located7-inches and 14-inches away from the heater. The initial groundpotential was only 0.5 V, and it decreased to a background level of 40mV after about 20 hours of operation when the sand and soil dried out.The dry sand and soil were excellent electrical insulators.

Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects ofthe invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view ofthis description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed asillustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled inthe art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to beunderstood that the forms of the invention shown and described hereinare to be taken as examples of embodiments. Elements and materials maybe substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts andprocesses may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may beutilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in theart after having the benefit of this description of the invention.Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A soil remediation thermal well for soilremediation, comprising: a strip heater electrically coupled to a powersource, wherein the strip heater is structurally self-supporting; anopening in soil formed during insertion of the strip heater into thesoil, wherein a portion of the strip heater is positioned against soilthat defines the opening when the strip heater is inserted into thesoil; and wherein power supplied to the strip heater from the powersource heats a heater section of the strip heater, wherein the heatersection conductively transfers heat to the contaminated soil during use,and wherein the heater section comprises a metal having self-regulatingheater characteristics.
 2. The well of claim 1, wherein the heatersection comprises a nickel-chromium alloy.
 3. The well of claim 1,wherein the strip heater is substantially “U” shaped.
 4. The well ofclaim 1, further comprising a fill material placed between legs of thestrip heater, and wherein the fill material comprises catalyst materialconfigured to enhance thermal reduction of contaminants within the soil.5. The well of claim 1, further comprising a casing positioned betweenlegs of the heater section, wherein a portion of the casing beneath asoil surface comprises perforations.
 6. The well of claim 5, furthercomprising fill material packed between legs of the strip heater.
 7. Thewell of claim 1, wherein the metal having self-regulating heatercharacteristics is configured to allow the strip heater to be attachedto the power source without the use of a well controller or rectifier.8. The well of claim 7, wherein the metal having self-regulating heatercharacteristics comprises type 304 stainless steel.
 9. The well of claim7, wherein the metal having self-regulating heater characteristicscomprises type 310 stainless steel.
 10. A system for conductivelyheating soil during soil remediation, comprising: a heater strippositioned in the soil, wherein the heater strip is substantiallyself-supporting along a length of the heater strip due to the heaterstrip being wide and thick, and wherein at least a portion of the heaterstrip comprises a metal having self-regulating heater characteristics;and a power source electrically coupled to the heater strip.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, further comprising an impermeable barrier positionedon top of the soil surface, wherein seals are formed between theimpermeable barrier and portions of the suction well and portions of theheater strip that extend through the impermeable barrier.
 12. The systemof claim 11, further comprising a thermal barrier positioned on top ofthe soil surface.
 13. The system of claim 11, further comprising athermal barrier positioned on top of the impermeable barrier.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10, further comprising a suction well positionedadjacent to the heater strip.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein theheater strip comprises a nickel-chromium alloy.
 16. The system of claim10, wherein the heater strip is substantially “U” shaped.
 17. The systemof claim 10, further comprising fill material positioned between legs ofthe heater strip.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the fill materialcomprises catalyst material configured to enhance thermal reduction ofcontaminants.
 19. The well of claim 10, wherein the metal havingself-regulating heater characteristics is configured to allow the heaterstrip to be attached to the power source without the use of a wellcontroller or rectifier.
 20. The well of claim 10, wherein the metalhaving self-regulating heater characteristics comprises type 304stainless steel.
 21. The well of claim 10, wherein the metal havingself-regulating heater characteristics comprises type 310 stainlesssteel.
 22. The system of claim 10, wherein the heater strip ispositioned in the soil in a trench.
 23. The system of claim 10, whereinthe heater strip is positioned in the soil in a drilled opening.
 24. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the heater strip is positioned in a casing.25. The system of claim 24, further comprising fill material placed inthe casing.
 26. The system of claim 10, further comprising fill materialpositioned between the soil and the heater strip.